Weekly Market Recap 05/29/09

Precious metals were steady in the early part of this short week after Memorial Day. Weakness in the equity markets kept pricing stable until later in the week, when precious metals started a significant uptrend. A weakened U.S. dollar, rising oil prices and the massive stimulus spending around the globe proved to continue gold and silver bullion’s appeal with investors as an inflation hedge.

These events, coupled with financial uncertainty, have many investors once again taking shelter in the metals market. As a result, gold has seen a three-month high. These events could be the perfect recipe for a price explosion for precious metals. However, a “wait and see” mentality still prevails, as the markets have no clear direction.

Here is a brief synopsis of the highs and lows in the market and an overview of our very popular bullion and numismatic products here at APMEX.com.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $957.60. The high during the week was on Friday, May 29, at $981.90, while the low for the week occurred on Tuesday, May 26th at $936.60. Gold ended the week up $24.30 at $981.90. This week, 2009 1 oz Gold American Eagles, 1/10 oz. Random Year Gold Eagles, 2009 Gold Canadian Maple Leafs, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Random Year Gold Krugerrand, 2009 1 oz. Gold Philharmonics and 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Gold Bars were all very popular items at APMEX.com.

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $14.72. Very active trading pushed spot silver to a high of $15.33 on Friday, May 29, while the low for silver occurred on Tuesday, May 26, at $14.31. Silver ended the week up .61 cents at $15.33. 2009 Silver American Eagles, 1oz. Random Year Silver Eagles, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds, 2009 Silver Canadian Maples, 1oz. Random Year Silver Maples, 1 oz. Walking Liberty Silver Rounds, 1 oz. Morgan Design Silver Bars, 100 oz. JM Silver Bars and Silver Dollars (Morgan & Peace) were hot items on APMEX.com.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1164.00, and ended the week up at $1196.00. Platinum had a gain of $32.00 through the week. Investors were eager to purchase Platinum products this week. The most popular of these items were:1 oz. Platinum Pamp Suisse Bars, 1 oz. Scotiabank Platinum bars, 1 oz. Platinum American Eagles, ¼ oz. Platinum American Eagles, 1/2 oz. Platinum Eagles and 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $234.30, and ended the week with a gain of $7.70 at $242.00. Palladium products continue to be in great demand. To view APMEX’s Palladium products please click here as they are on a slight delay!

Numismatics:
This week as dealers and customers alike prepare for the Long Beach Coin show, the bullion market has continued to reduce the premiums on Pre-1933 US Gold even further. Though history has not been kind to the Long Beach show in terms of the metals market, dealers remain optimistic. This will be a crucial week for both dealers and customers as this show should give an indication of where the market is heading in the near future.

On a very positive note, there has been a renewed interest in both Indian Head Cents and early Lincoln Cents regardless of date. This could be due to the fact that the 2nd (the Formative Years) of the 4 different Lincoln Cent Reverses has finally been released. In turn, the exorbitant pricing of the Formative Years’ predecessor, the Birthplace Cent, has dropped drastically over the past few weeks, but they still remain in strong demand!

Early key date Walking Liberty Half Dollars also remain at the top of everyone’s list, especially in high grade. Both Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars gained strength due to the increased price of silver this week. The better date Morgan Silver Dollars still remain the cornerstone of Silver Dollar enthusiasts. Finally, Early American Type is also performing moderately well with Half Cents and 3-Cent Silvers leading the way.